The Borno State Police Command has arrested 2,610 suspects for gender-based violence and other offences in 2025, with recoveries including 187 mobile phones and cash worth N5.8 million.

The command said the arrests resulted from sustained crime-prevention patrols, intelligence-led policing and prompt responses to distress calls from communities across the state.

In a statement issued in Maiduguri yesterday, the command’s spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent of Police Nahum Daso, said: “During the period under review, a total of 2,610 arrests were made for various crimes and other offences,” adding that 1,028 cases were successfully investigated, prosecuted and concluded with convictions.

He said the outcome reflected improved investigative capacity and diligent prosecution by the police during the year. Daso said the command also recorded significant recoveries, including eight assorted firearms, 54 rounds of ammunition, and 41 cutlasses and knives seized from suspects. He added that nine unexploded ordnances and improvised explosive devices were recovered and safely detonated as part of public safety and counter-terrorism efforts.

According to him, 18 kidnapped victims were rescued through coordinated police operations in targeted communities.

Other items recovered during the period included 27 stolen vehicles and 187 mobile phones, which are undergoing verification for possible return to their owners. A large cache of hard drugs and other illicit substances valued at N5.77 million was also seized, disrupting drug distribution networks within the state and border communities with Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The Commissioner of Police, Naziru Abdulmajid, acknowledged the operational foundation in place before he assumed office on June 8, 2025, when he became the 43rd Commissioner of Police in the state.

He said Borno faces unique and complex security challenges, noting that the achievements recorded in 2025 were the result of continuity, collective effort, resilience and professionalism of officers and men of the command.

“As the year 2026 commences, the command will prioritise intelligence-led policing as the core strategy for crime prevention and detection,” he said.

Daso added that the police would strengthen collaboration with sister security agencies, community stakeholders and relevant partners to ensure coordinated and proactive responses to security challenges in the state.